Scotland!

Scotland

I got to go to Edinburgh, Scotland for a conference at the end of June. It was a great conference, and I got to see a few of the city’s highlights.

The first day, I checked into my adorable and conveniently located B&B (I felt very fancy staying somewhere other than a hostel!) and walked out to the High Street, called the Royal Mile for a little sightseeing and a quick meeting. The Royal Mile is the center of the Old Town, and it runs from Edinburgh Castle at one and to the Scottish Parliament at the other. The street is lined with mostly tourist shops and cafes, selling tartan everything, shortbread, woolens, and whisky. I picked up a Sherlock Holmes book from a used bookstore. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the stories here (mostly), and the character was inspired by a professor he had at the University! I was also excited because the book I got has stories that don't show up in the compendiums I've read before.

 

My pictures weren't the best, so here's one from Google!

 

 Edinburgh Castle! Again, not my picture.

Near where I was staying is the large parkland area that contains Arthur’s Seat, the highest point in Edinburgh. The Arthur in question is the legendary King Arthur of Camelot fame, and the whole area is full of trails for hiking and walking. I ran to the top of the seat my first morning there. It was a fantastic run—definitely challenging with the ascent—and at the top I got a fantastic 360-degree view of the city, surrounding countryside, and the sea. 

 

Running up!

 

The seat itself.

 

 

My non-panoramic panorama from the top!

 

The way down. I love trails!

The more modern part of Edinburgh is called—creatively—the New Town, and it has a more standard High Street called Princes Street with shops like H&M, Topshop, and Primark. I hadn’t been in Primark before, but I had to leave because I had fully packed my Ryanair/Easyjet baggage allowance and couldn’t afford to buy anything…even if the prices are less than a third of Swiss prices and everything was on sale! I did get to pick up a few things at the heritage shops, since my family does have some Scottish heritage. And while I didn’t really sample the whisky, I did enjoy the shortbread cookies my hosts left in my room every day!

The city of Edinburgh is very walkable, and very dense. You can walk from the Scottish National Museum to the National Library in a minute or less, and be in an adorable pub-filled square (Grassmarket Square might be my new favorite name) right beneath the castle’s cliffs in another minute. One big highlight for me was the Elephant House Café, where J.K. Rowling famously nursed one cup of tea a day while writing the first few Harry Potter books. I had to go see that!

This is it!

They had a little plaque and everything! Please excuse me carrying all my luggage...

 

After the conference, I took the train to Scotland’s other big city, Glasgow. It’s only a one-hour train ride away since they’re both in the Scottish lowlands, and I saved a bit by spending the night at the hostel there instead of enjoying my B&B for one more night. Saturday morning I set out to explore Glasgow, only to find that this fairly notorious party city was completely empty! I went for a run and took my time getting ready, but I was still out the door looking for breakfast in a city of closed everything.

I was set to spend the day alone in Glasgow (before flying down to the London area to meet up with my sister Sarah!), and I was figuring out what to do when I met two wonderful sisters (also from Switzerland!) who were also seeing Glasgow that day. I ended up getting to spend the whole day with them—down to pubbing and karaoke adventures that night—and we had a fantastic time seeing the city. I’m so glad they’re Swiss so I get to see them again!

Pipe and drum group on the street in Glasgow! 

Part of the University, with a museum inside.

 

The museum, in a very cool space. It was full of the collections of Victorian-era armchair anthropologist types.

Botanical Gardens. The whole thing originally existed on the estate of a very wealthy Glaswegian (that's how you say it, like Norwegian) and when he donated it to the city, they took it apart and shipped it downstream!

Another museum. but we can pretend it's a castle.

 

After Glasgow, I got up way too early on Sunday to fly down and meet Sarah! We went to Ireland together, which is coming up next.

Love Katie